1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of photography and, more specifically, to cameras having a built-in flash unit that is movable between erect and storage positions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the development of low cost, automatic, electronic flash units and faster color film, the once clear boundary between ambient light and flash photography is becoming somewhat blurred. Increasingly photographers are using supplemental flash illumination in a daylight photographic situation to soften shadow areas or improve image sharpness with the flash unit's "stop action" capability.
In response to this trend, photographic manufacturers are producing more cameras having built in electronic flash units.
Another prevailing trend is to make such cameras as compact and light weight as possible. One weight-saving technique is to eliminate the need for an accessory camera case that provides protection for the camera's optical elements or other delicate exposure control devices including the light output window of the flash unit. Folding cameras that have functional camera housing sections which also serve to cover the optical elements in a protective manner when the camera is folded are well-known in the prior art. For example, see commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,471 wherein a housing section forming an imbibition chamber for a self-developing film unit also serves as a lens cover when the camera is folded. Also, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,414 discloses a folding self-developing camera in which the lens housing folds into a recess on the forward part of the camera so that sections of the camera housing forming the recess serve as a lens cover. It will be noted, however, that the flash unit on top of the lens housing would not receive such protection when the camera is folded. For an example of a camera that has a forward recess for receiving the lens housing and a trailing end recess for receiving a rangefinder or flash unit, reference may be had to commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,253. Because these cameras fold, the camera designer has a great deal of flexibility in being able to provide protection for the exposure elements and the flash unit.
In non-folding or solid body cameras the designer's choices are more limited. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,611 discloses a box-type camera having a recess at one end for mounting a pivoting flash unit. In the nonoperative folded configuration the camera body and flash housing cooperate to protect the reflector. However, the lens is not protected by the folding flash housing and thus would require a separate lens cap or camera case. Provisions are made for automatically electrically disconnecting the flash unit when it is pivoted to its storage position. Also see U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,071 for a similar camera design.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,388,995; 2,871,775; and 3,240,923 disclose cameras in which the reflector of a flash unit mounted thereon pivots to a storage position in which it protectively covers the objective lens. However, the operator must be sure to manually extract the flash lamp from its socket before the reflector is folded.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,783,696 discloses a number of designs for ever-ready camera cases having a first section for receiving a camera and a second section, generally hinged to the first section, for mounting components of the flash unit. When the case is in the open position the flash unit is located in operative relation to the camera lens, and when it is closed the flash unit serves as a lens cover. It will be noted that the case structure is considerably larger than the camera housing itself and thus the design tends to provide a rather large and heavy structure.
The present invention is directed to providing a folding flash unit on a compact, solid body, self-developing camera having a camera housing shape of the type shown in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,964.
In contrast to the generally box-shaped camera housing utilized in the solid body camera patents cited above, the shape of this typical self-developing camera is rather complex and unconventional because it utilizes a folded exposure optical path to accommodate a snapshot sized film unit. Unlike the conventional box-type cameras, provisions also are made for housing a pair of pressure-applying rollers and certain roller drive components including an electrical motor and gear train assembly. Thus the camera may be distinguished from a box-type camera in that it includes a forwardly facing lens mounting wall and an apron structure covering the roller assembly which projects forwardly from the bottom portion of the lens mounting wall to the forward end of the camera. The lens mount wall and apron are disposed relative to one another to define a characteristic recess or notch on the upper forward end of the camera.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a self-developing camera characterized by the forward end recess in its camera housing with a built-in flash unit that is light weight and may be stored on the camera housing without excessively increasing the camera's overall size.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide such a camera wherein the camera housing and flash unit housing cooperate to provide a mutually protective enclosure for the exposure components and flash output window thereon without having to resort to adding extra camera structure that serves no other function than to provide such protection. Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious or will, in part, appear hereinafter.